Mumbai, January 29
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was among the 13 persons figuring as accused in the FIR filed by the CBI today in connection with the Adarsh housing society scam which also names some retired senior Army officials.

The FIR, which was filed before a designated court here this afternoon, names Lt General PK Rampal (retd) , Major Generals AR Kumar and TK Kaul and the then Principal Secretary (Urban Development) Ramanand Tiwari, who was recently suspended by the Maharashtra Government as Information Commissioner, official sources said.

The FIR, which was registered in the designated court of the CBI, was handed over to special judge MR Aglawe in a sealed envelope here this afternoon.

The FIR, which has been filed under various sections of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and showing forged documents as genuine, besides sections pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, named Subash Lala, the then Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Brig RC Sharma (retd) as an accused, the sources said.

In a sketchy press note, the CBI said the agency has registered a case in connection with the Adarsh scam. “After completion of preliminary inquiry, a case has been registered against 13 accused persons belonging to the Army, the DEO (Defence Estate Office), the state government, public servants and unknown persons,” the CBI said in a statement. CBI sources claimed that general secretary of the society R C Thakur, former Brigadier MM Wanchoo and Congress leader KL Gidwani were allegedly the main conspirators in building the society illegally. Chavan, who had to quit as the Chief Minister last year after it was found that among the members of the Adarsh society were his late mother-in-law and sister-in-law, was the Revenue Minister between 2001 and 2003 and he had dealt with files pertaining to the ownership of the land. He is alleged to have recommended 40 per cent allotment of flats to civilians in the Adarsh Housing Society, which was meant for war widows and heroes of the Kargil War, the sources said. The FIR also named Pradeep Vyas, the then collector of Mumbai between 2002 and 2005 who is alleged to have ratified 71 persons in the society of which several were ineligible members. His wife Seema Vyas is alleged to have a flat in the society.

The allegation against Maj Gen Kaul was that he had allegedly dishonestly replied to a Parliament question as the land was never under the occupation of the Army. — PTI